Burnley manager Vincent Kompany repeatedly called referee Darren England a “cheat” and swore at the official before being sent off during his side’s draw at Chelsea on March 30, the assistant referee’s report from the incident has said.
The FA, which fined Kompany £10,000 and handed the Premier League legend a two-game touchline ban, has released its reasons for charging the Belgian over his reaction to Lorenz Assignon’s dismissal for fouling Mykhailo Mudryk inside the penalty area.
”Following the award of a penalty to Chelsea in the 40th minute, the Burnley manager reacted angrily by moving out of his technical area, throwing his arms aggressively and shouting at the referee,” James Bell said on his extraordinary incident form.
“As the decision was being checked, I attempted to use members of his own technical area staff to calm him down but Mr Kompany persisted to insult the referee by pointing towards him and calling him “a f*****g cheat” numerous times.
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“Despite the attempts to calm him down, Mr Kompany then entered the field of play, briefly, again gesturing towards the referee and shouting ‘you’re a f*****g cheat’.
“I informed the referee that a stage two (red card) sanction was required for the Burnley manager. As Darren came over to issue the red card, Mr Kompany again said ‘f*****g cheat.'”
Kompany referee row: ‘Red mist’
Kompany, who was also found to have delayed the game by refusing to head down the tunnel, admitted the charge and apologised to England in his subsequent press conference, while his solicitor pleaded that it was “out of character” and a result of “red mist”.
“Retaining Premier League status is our highest priority at the moment in order to safeguard a more robust future for our players and staff at every level of the club,” Burnley said in a letter considered by an independent regulatory commission.
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“While we do not want to make excuses for the language used, it is certain that the intense pressure which Mr Kompany is under at this point in the season will have contributed to his outburst at Mr England after the decisions he made following Lorenz’s tackle on Mykhailo Mudryk.”
Kompany said he was driven by a “sense of injustice”. “He set high standards for himself and felt that, over the course of the season, there had been a compounding effect of poor decisions that caused him to suddenly and temporarily lose control,” the report said.
Kompany and Burnley chief operating officer Matt Williams visited the officials at full-time to discuss the incident and apologise, having seen the Clarets equalise twice in a 2-2 draw.
The 38-year-old’s representative had argued that being sent off was sufficient punishment. One game of his ban has been suspended until the end of 2024 because of his willingness to work constructively with referees in future.
